Obituary: Ray CravensRay Cravens CLARKSVILLE — Ray Frank Cravens was born June 1, 1946, to his parents in Tulsa, Okla., and passed away July 25, 2015, in Clarksville at the age of 69. He was a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War with two Honorable Discharges. He is preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Jimmie James Cravens. He is survived by his significant other of 23 years, Wanda Snow of Clarksville; a son, Sam Cravens and wife, Trista, of Hagarville, Arkansas; ...

Obituary: Gary PledgerGary Pledger CLARKSVILLE — Gary Patrick Pledger was born Sept. 25, 1969, to his parents in Ozark and passed away July 22, 2015, in Clarksville at the age of 45. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. today at Hardwicke Funeral Home Chapel in Clarksville. Funeral service will begin at 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at Hardwicke Funeral Home Chapel in Clarksville, with Reverend Amos Pledger officiating. Burial will follow in Coal Hill Cemetery in C...

Obituary: Bobby RochelleBobby Rochell DARDANELLE — Bobby Ray Rochell, age 76 of Dardanelle, died Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. He was born Feb. 20, 1939, at Lamesa, Texas, to the late William and Fannie Stephens Rochell. He was a Baptist. He loved to hunt, fish and read. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran and a member of the Arkansas National Guard. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, William Rochell; and one sister, Barbar...

Obituary: Leona AllenLeona Allen Leona Allen, 72, of Russellville departed this life Saturday, July 25, 2015, at the Arkansas River Valley Hospice Home. She was born July 1, 1943, in Phoenix, Ariz., to John VanMeeter and Velma Peoples. A graveside memorial service will be conducted under the direction of Broussard Funeral Home at Rock Springs Cemetery in Hector at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The online guestbook and obituary are available at www.broussardfu...

Fort Smith schools consider ending Rebel mascot, ‘Dixie’Associated Press LITTLE ROCK — A school board in northwestern Arkansas is considering whether to drop a high school mascot and direct that its band no longer play its “Dixie” fight song in the wake of a racially motivated shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, last month. Fort Smith School board members have said a recurring discussion of changing the fight song and Rebel mascot reignited after the shooting at t...

Local student to lead 'Legally Blonde' castCONWAY — Russellville High School (RHS) student Kathy Busch will have the Arkansas River Valley thinking pink during a production of "Legally Blonde Jr." by the Red Curtain Theatre on Friday and Saturday at Hendrix College's Trieschmann Fine Arts Building. Busch, who will be a senior this year at RHS, will play the lead role in the musical, which follows the adventures of a sorority girl named Elle Woods – a Gemini with a double Capricorn moon...

Attorney general’s office rejects 5 pot proposalsAssociated Press CONWAY — The Arkansas attorney general’s office has rejected five proposed ballot titles that would have asked voters to legalize marijuana for various purposes. But Robert Reed of Dennard said he isn’t giving up and is planning to appeal the most recent denials, on July 20, by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who cited ambiguities in two of the proposals Reed submitted. Reed told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he suffers...

Italian Gardens closes, will reopen with new owners, nameWhen one restaurant closes, another opens. Such is the case in downtown Russellville, where a notice posted Friday at Italian Gardens and on the company's social media page announced the restaurant was closed and sold to Wesley and Suzanne Hall, who plan to open a Pasta Grill in its place. The Halls were the original owners of Italian Gardens and opened the restaurant in 1994. They ran it for several years and then sold it to Spence Roberts, w...

Structure fire overnight on E. Shore Drive.The Russellville Fire Department responded to a structure fire at approximately 4:50 a.m. Monday morning at 202 E. Shore Drive. Upon arrival, fire companies found smoke and fire venting through the roof of a two story single family dwelling. The fire was extinguished, and the area of origin sustained heavy fire damage with the remainder of the residence sustaining light to moderate heat and smoke damage. The homeowners were not in the residenc...

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Local student qualifies to compete at world’s largest rodeoDENVER— Terri Singleton, a senior at Dover High School, earned a position on the Arkansas state/provincial National High School rodeo team and traveled earlier this month with fellow teammates to Rock Springs, Wyo. to compete at the 67 annual National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in the Pole Bending Competition. The NHSFR is the world’s largest rodeo and features more than 1,500 contestants from 42 states, five Canadian Provinces and Austr...

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Olin and Millicent Cook Scholarships awarded to Russellville studentsKregan Kordsmeier, Mason Rhodes, and Merideth Smith, all of Russellville, have been awarded an Olin and Millicent Scholarship. Kordsmeier will be a freshman at Arkansas Tech University in the fall, Rhodes will be a sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and Smith will be entering her third year at A.S.U.

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Donny Edwards returns to Center for the ArtsDonny Edwards will once again bring his Elvis Presley tribute performance to the Russellville Center for the Arts. Edwards recently became a Las Vegas headliner with his Elvis Presley tribute and is also the first and only Elvis tribute performer to be allowed to perform at the Graceland estate in Memphis, Tenn. Edwards has even worked with the original artists that worked with Elvis himself, such as The Jordanaires, The Sweet Inspirations, D....

Obituary: Ronald DailRonald Dail CLARKSVILLE — Ronald A. Dail was born Feb. 5, 1943, to his parents in Brownwood, Texas, and passed away July 21, 2015, in Lamar at the age of 72. He was a retired salesman. He is preceded in death by his parents, Alphus L. and Geraldine Cude Dail. He is survived by his wife, Wanda Perren Dail of Lamar; a son, Ron Dail, Jr. of Clarksville; a daughter, Alicia Case and husband, Clayton, of Clarksville; and two grandchildren, Cameron D...

Obituary: Patricia ShepherdPatricia Shepherd DARDANELLE — Patricia Ann Shepherd, 78, of Russellville died Thursday, July 23, 2015, at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Born Jan. 17, 1937, at Arkansas to the late Grover and Clemie Stevens Andrews, she was a LPN, mother and homemaker, loved to fish and spend time with her family, was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Glen Shepherd; sisters, Mable Sebourne, Frances Loveless Wineland; brothers, Billy Andrew...

Obituary: Alvin WilliamsAlvin Williams CLARKSVILLE — Alvin Lee Williams, 96, of Coal Hill passed away July 22, 2015, in Clarksville. He was born June 18, 1919, in Lonoke to Offie and Lovie (Fowler) Williams. Williams is preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Raymond, Paul and Omar Williams; sisters, Nona Mayfield and Mattie Faye. He is survived by his wife, Claudine (Weathers) Williams; sons, Jerry and Mona Williams and Terry and JoElen Williams; daughters, Mary...

Obituary: Cathern HarrisCathern Harris DARDANELLE — Cathern Mollie Harris, age 73 of Dardanelle, died Tuesday, July 21, 2015, at her home. She was born Aug. 20, 1941, at Morrilton to the late Joseph Lesley and Goldie Eveley Anderson Smith. She was a Baptist, loved reading, growing plants, flowers and loved her dog Hunney. She was preceded in death by her parents; two sons, Ricky Cates and Leroy Cates; four sisters, Peggy Deeds, Clara Gatewood, Barbara Main, Bitha Mai...

UCA Nursing Department awards scholarship to RhinehartCONWAY — The Department of Nursing at the University of Central Arkansas recently announced that Ashley Rhinehart of Pottsville has been selected as the recipient of the Suzanne Harvey Graduate Nursing Scholarship for the 2015-2016 academic year.

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Shooter’s mental problems didn’t stop gun buyAssociated Press LAFAYETTE, La. — John Russell Houser was deeply troubled long before he shot 11 people in a movie theater in Louisiana, but decades of mental problems didn’t keep him from buying the handgun he used. Despite obvious and public signs of mental illness — most importantly, a Georgia judge’s order committing him to mental health treatment against his will as a danger to himself and others in 2008 — Houser was able to walk into an ...

Lathams celebrate 50th AnniversaryDale and Donna Latham of Dardanelle are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 1, 2015. They were married at First Assembly of God Church in Russellville in 1965. The couple’s children are Ronald Dale Latham, Jr. of Dardanelle and Karla and Billy Stanton of Russellville. Grandchildren are Colten Storm Latham and Kaden Rain Latham of Dardanelle, Chelsea and Eric Schrock of Dardanelle and Haley Layne Stanton of Russellville. Great gr...